What happens if your pigs are infected with JEV

If laboratory tests confirm the presence of JEV in your pigs, Biosecurity Queensland will work with you to manage the situation.

Your property will be identified as high-risk for JEV and you will need to implement risk mitigation strategies to minimise further cases of JEV.

Typically your property will not be placed under any movement restrictions; however, you have a legal obligation called your general biosecurity obligation to take all reasonable and practical measures to minimise the effects of JEV.

Property Management Plan

The measures you take will need to be documented in a Japanese encephalitis Property Management Plan (PMP). A Biosecurity Queensland officer will provide you with a copy of the PMP and discuss this with you.

The PMP has been specifically designed to support pig properties with JEV infection to meet their general biosecurity obligation to manage and undertake a risk assessment of JEV.

Your PMP will include actions aimed at:

• identifying human health risks and control options
• mosquito management
• ongoing disease surveillance and management
• understanding the risk in your pigs and how to manage them while continuing your business.

Contact your immediate neighbours to advise them of the JEV infection in your pigs. Often they will be exposed to the same mosquito burdens. By understanding the risk, they will be able to make informed decisions about how to manage the risk on their property.

Advise properties receiving pigs from your property, including abattoirs, that JEV infection has been confirmed in pigs on your property and inform the receiving property about how you are managing the risk.

Biosecurity Queensland will notify Queensland Health of the detected JEV infection in pigs and Queensland Health will contact you to provide information and support about human health including vaccination and mosquito management.

Biosecurity Queensland will assess the risk to other piggeries in the area and contact those piggeries if the risk is considered high.